4/15

Can one ever earn tenderness?
I have seen soldiers called cowards for their tears,
And children claimed weak for giving thought to fear.
So what is the deal that must be made?
What devil’s due for compassion paid –
How many scars must we collect?
How many loves must we wreck?
How worn by work, how heavy our hearts?
How far our fall – to what deep parts?
How many bottles, how many smokes?
Must slide the razor its crimson strokes?
What level of loathing must we grasp
To cast aside these fearless masks